


we made a start (be it a false one i know)

by romnovs (tashatops)



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, F/F, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff and Angst, Implied Sexual Content, Mutual Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-08
Updated: 2017-05-08
Packaged: 2018-10-29 08:32:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,543
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10850283
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tashatops/pseuds/romnovs
Summary: It had all started out as a joke. The only small, tiny problem was that the more they hung out together, the more Angela started to notice Fareeha. It was in the little things, like how she always held the door for Angela and how her voice was warm and rich and how she was kind to others.(And, okay, Angela would be lying if she claimed she didn't notice the firmness in Fareeha's shoulders, the strength of her thighs, the curve of her neck...)But they were friends. Just friends.





	we made a start (be it a false one i know)

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for the OW Femslash Exchange, my prompt was Pharmercy fake dating au and I hope I did it some justice!

It had all started out as a joke. Angela and Fareeha had been hanging out together a lot, always circling each other when they had time. After a few lunches spent together, Angela realized just how much she enjoyed the other woman’s company; Fareeha had a certain charm about her. Her charisma was almost unavoidable. Angela was rather endeared by her, so she wasn’t too surprised when Fareeha approached her claiming that Lena had started a betting pool on when they would tell the rest of the team they were dating.

At first, Angela laughed it off thinking Fareeha is playing a joke on her. Soon, they were both laughing together, and the sound of Fareeha's laughter was a beautiful, comforting thing. Where Angela's was quiet, only a giggle, Fareeha's was loud and boisterous and it filled the room.

When it died down, though, it left Angela feeling slightly empty, like the room was suddenly  _ too  _ quiet.

"Seriously?" She asked, partly because she needed to fill the silence and partly because she really was incredulous.

"Yeah," Was all Fareeha replied before fidgeting with her sleeve. The other woman looked down before looking into Angela's eyes again. "I was thinking it could be fun to let them believe it, so I haven't really denied it yet. What do you think, though?"

And, there it was, Fareeha fidgeted  again and she couldn’t meet Angela's eyes and Angela was just really confused, but for some reason she said  _ yes _ .

 

-

 

They met in Fareeha's quarters that night and talked about how they were going to play it out. They discussed what they were both comfortable with, and agreed to neither confirm nor deny any suspicions the others may have. Angela marveled at how  _ easy  _ it was to talk to Fareeha, how the conversation seemed to flow until they were talking about something that had nothing to do with dating.

After a while, Fareeha told her about a poster of Reinhardt she used to have on her bedroom wall when she was young, when his hair was still long and golden. Angela told her about her family, about how her  _ Oma  _ used to tell her stories before bedtime and sneak some chocolate into her backpack when she had an important exam at school.

They talked about heartbreak and loss, and Angela figured between the two of them, they could talk about this for hours. They talked about the burdens they carry and the shadows they grew in. Fareeha shared the toll the Amari bloodline took on her. Angela understands, in a way. After all, the Ziegler name has a weight of its own, too.

It was past midnight by the time she decided to leave Fareeha's quarters after almost falling asleep on her bed. She dragged her feet back to her room, took her pants and bra off, and fell into bed in an instant.

She tried not to notice how cold her own bed felt.

 

-

 

Angela and Fareeha started spending more time together.

It wasn’t sudden, it was something that happened gradually, without either of them being really aware of it. They gravitated towards one another. They smiled at each other as they passed in the hallway.  Fareeha came by the medbay to bring Angela some lunch when she was so focused on her research she forgot to feed herself, on late nights when sleep eluded them both.

Angela considered Fareeha, at the moment, one of her closest friends. However, she certainly didn’t mind the occasional kiss on the cheek or hand on her waist when they needed to keep up their little act. More often than not, they ended up back at one of their sleeping quarters laughing at the face Lúcio and Hana made when they hugged, or the triumphant look on Lena's face when they held hands.

After all, they were only doing this for fun, right?

The only small, tiny problem was that the more they hung out together, the more Angela started to  _ notice  _ Fareeha. It was in the little things, like how she always held the door for Angela and how her voice was warm and rich and how she was kind to others.

(And, okay, Angela would be lying if she claimed she didn't notice the firmness in Fareeha's shoulders, the strength of her thighs, the curve of her neck...)

But they were  _ friends _ . Just friends.

 

-

 

Angela was paged shortly after they started "dating", and she was nothing short of surprised when she headed to Morrison's office and found Fareeha waiting in the hallway, as well. She only had time to spare the other woman a glance before the door opened and he gestured for them to enter.

"Fareeha, Angela, take a seat," He started "I'll be short, Overwatch has an assignment specifically for the two of you, due to the... nature of your relationship," Morrison continued, and Angela had to bite her lip to keep from laughing at how awkward he looked discussing this. When she glanced at Fareeha, she saw the other woman also having trouble holding back her amusement.

Morrison frowned at both of them before speaking again, "We've gotten some information on the Deadlock gang. We'll need you to move in together close to one of their operatives and confirm the intel we've got. If it turns out correct, you'll have to wait for reinforcements and then take down their base of operations. Understood?" When they both nodded, he added, "You leave in a week. Good luck, agents."

 

-

 

They spent that whole afternoon holed up in a common room going over the intel. Apparently, the Deadlock gang planned on transporting one of their biggest weapons cargo onto the day. If their intel was right, they were collaborating with Los Muertos to smuggle the shipment into the US. Fareeha and Angela had two weeks to either confirm or deny the information before the weapons were transported to five different states, so it was crucial that they stopped the cargo as soon as it entered the US.

One afternoon, after spending three days crammed up in that room surrounded by holopads and printed documents alike, Fareeha abruptly stood up and offered her hand to Angela.

At the frown of confusion on the blonde's face, Fareeha smirked, "Come on, being cooped up in here so long is really getting on my nerves." She paused as Angela took her hand and got up, and then she added, "Besides, if we're going on a mission together I have to make sure you are at peak performance levels," She finished with a sly smile.

Fareeha didn’t let go of her hand as she led her through the corridors of Watchpoint: Gibraltar, and Angela was a bit too distracted by that to notice where Fareeha was taking her: the Gym.

Angela only spared one incredulous glance at Fareeha before she sighed and pushed the doors open.

 

-

 

They ended up on the floor. Fareeha's back was pressed against it, panting hard and staring dumbfoundedly up at Angela. Angela couldn’t help but smirk down at her. 

Although Fareeha knocked her down a few times, Angela managed to kick her feet from under her and pinned her to the ground.

"You didn't think I'd be able to do that, did you?" Angela asked, still smirking triumphantly.

"I didn't, but I must say I'm pleasantly surprised," Fareeha smiled back when Angela got up and offered her hand to help her up.

When she stood, they ended up so close together that Angela had to crane her neck to look up at Fareeha, can feel her warm breath on her cheek. After a few seconds, Fareeha coughed and let go of her hand, quickly looking away as she stepped back.

"I'm going to the showers," Fareeha said as she pointed behind her.

When she turned around Angela let her eyes wander. After all, Fareeha was not too hard on the eyes.

 

-

 

The first day they got to the house they spent their time moving things around and making friends with Morris and Linda Smith, their next door neighbours. Angela thought she wouldn't mind having these people as neighbours, that is, if Morris wasn't one of the most powerful weapons smugglers in the Deadlock gang.

The Smiths asked a number of things: when Angela and Fareeha met, when they married, how long they've been together, all questions they were prepared for. Angela was amazed at how good Fareeha was at this, resting her hand on Angela's waist, leaning into her when retelling the story of how they met, teasing her fondly. All Angela really needed to do is nod and laugh along.

They both ended up exhausted that first day, but Angela was sure they could make it work. It was simple, really, they were to play the part of newlyweds for the day, and follow their target at night to try and pin point where they were stashing their weapons.

Soon, they got used to routine. Angela woke up to a cup of Fareeha's coffee every morning, checked the mail and said hello to Morris' wife, sometimes staying to chatter before getting back inside. Then, she and Fareeha reviewed specs for the mission, or their target's route for the night. Angela usually took a power nap while Fareeha checked her Raptora or went out for a jog. At night they both donned their suits, became Pharah and Mercy, and followed Morris around to various locations.

When they got home, they took turns for showering and sleeping on the couch. However, after spending her first night on the couch, Angela vowed to never let Fareeha sleep on that thing again, so they agreed to share the bed.

 

-

 

Angela's not sure why it happened, but one afternoon she felt something  _ shift  _ between them. She was washing the dishes after Fareeha cooked them dinner, and she realized with a start how awfully domestic this was.

Now the curtain's dropped, there was no need for them to keep pretending, no need for the small touches, the pet names, the faux familiarity; and yet, Angela realized, she felt more familiar with Fareeha than she's ever been with anyone. Fareha felt like home.

When Fareeha reached out her hand to grab the glass Angela was washing to dry it off, their fingers brushed. and the glass slipped from Angela's hands.

It hit the floor with a crash. 

Instantly, Angela knelt and spat out a hundred apologies and was pretty sure she was. Fareeha's deep chuckle made her feel warm inside and she couldn’t help but smile in response.

She knelt beside Angela and touched her hand softly. "Let me get a broom, no need to cut your hands."

_And_ _oh_ , _she is so fucked_.

 

-

 

It was bad, what the gangs were planning. There would be a summit of sorts between the gangs the next day where they'd distribute the weapons before transporting them. They had already increased security, and there would be hundreds of them in the morning.

The best approach, as far as Angela was concerned, was to wait for 76 and the rest of the reinforcements to come by in the morning and head into battle amongst her teammates. Fareeha, though, thought it would be best to infiltrate their base during the night and sneak up on them. And, since Angela had refused to go through with that, Fareeha was hell bent on going alone.

"Just give me one good reason why I shouldn't go." Fareeha challenged after Angela repeated once again that this wasn't a good idea.

"You're going to get killed. You'll be going in alone into a base full of enemies." Angela pleaded, stepping closer to Fareeha.

When Fareeha just sighed and shook her head, Angela felt a surge of desperation grip her. This was a suicide mission, and Fareeha was turning around from her and-

She moved forward quickly, grabbing Fareeha's arm and spinning her around to push her up against a wall. "You can't go." She said, "You can't go, because I think I may... I may like you. For real."

And with that, she kissed Fareeha hard, like it was the last time she'd ever get to kiss her. And maybe it was, their odds didn't significantly improve even with their teammates by their side.

Fareeha kissed her back almost instantly, just as hard and desperate, and it made Angela weak in the knees. This wasn't the first time they kissed, there had been some kisses on the cheek, some pecks here and there to keep up appearences. But nothing quite like this.

Soon, Fareeha was taking Angela's shirt off and moving her backwards until she hit the couch and fell on it. And, although Fareeha's mouth on her neck was a very pleasant distraction, the couch was still not entirely comfortable.

"Bedroom?" She suggested, and Fareeha nodded.

 

-

 

The next morning, nothing could be heard around the house. The rest of the strike team arrived, and, after gathering up to listen to 76's pep talk, they'd all gone their separate ways to gear up.

The tension was almost palpable. Angela could see it in the stiffness of Jack's posture, in the way Lena wasn't cracking some of her usual pre-mission jokes, in how Lúcio and Hana weren't talking about the latest game or music, and in the way Fareeha held herself. She held herself firmly, standing almost at attention as she did some last-minute check-ups on her Raptora suit.

As they all started to change into their battlesuits, Angela couldn't help but glance at Fareeha a few times, remembering how Fareeha had touched her, held her and kissed her.

Shaking her head, Angela resumed her task of slipping into the Valkyrie's under armour. She found comfort in the simple, familiar motions, in the way it fit snugly against her skin. She finished donning her suit just before Morrison called for them to get on the dropship, and Angela left the house feeling like the Valkyrie's wings weren't the only weight on her shoulders.

She knew what was at stake if they failed this mission, they all did. The same tension could be felt in the dropship, making everyone a little on edge for the fifteen minutes it took them to get there.

"Ready?" 76 asked them all when they finally touched ground. When everyone nodded in response, Angela felt a little better.

As the doors opened, she could see everyone slipping into their personas, ready for the tough battle they knew was about to unfold. She spared one last glance to Fareeha, and when the other woman looked back at her, Angela quickly looked back ahead and started to move out alongside everyone else. She'd have time to worry about their relationship status later.

She only stopped when she felt a gentle touch at her wrist, "Angela?" Fareeha asked tentatively.

When she turned around, she barely had time to react before Fareeha's lips were on hers, clashing with such force Angela was sure she would have staggered back if her arms hadn't locked instantly around Fareeha's neck.

"Oh," She breathed out when they parted, unable to do anything but stare at Fareeha.

"Yeah," Fareeha replied, just as breathless as her.

Neither of them noticed when Lena nudged at Lúcio and taunted, "You owe me 20 bucks."


End file.
